Some History....and Today

First, some history:

Two hundred years ago today, on June 4th, 1812, the United States House of Representatives voted to declare war on Great Britain.  The Senate concurred on June 17th.  President James Madison signed the declaration on June 18th, thus inaugurating the conflict known to history as the War of 1812.

Seventy years ago today, American and Japanese naval forces began fighting the Battle of Midway, which would result in the Japanese losing all four of their aircraft carriers, while the Americans lost one of their three.  Midway is generally thought to be first naval battle in which the ships on opposing sides never saw each other.

Now, onto some items from today:

From Liberty News, each job produced by the "Stimulus" bill costs somewhere between $540,000 and $4.1 million.

From King5, two sex offenders have been shot dead in Clallam County, Washington.

From the BBC, rebels in Syria abandon a ceasefire brokered by the UN.

From the Weekly Standard, Jesse Jackson compares Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, soon to face a recall vote, to past Alabama governor George Wallace.

From Reuters via MSNBC, a Kuwaiti man gets 10 years in prison for insulting Mohammed on Twitter.

From MSN, an injured bus driver saves his passengers, before dying.

From SFGate, for one Canadian, previously convicted of murder, karma wasn't a bitch, but instead was a bear.

From National Geographic, there will be a transit of Venus tomorrow.  If you miss it, the next one won't occur until 2117.

From CBS News, a woman in New Jersey discovers that the "face-eating" victim in Miami was her long-lost father.

From the Newark Advocate, one for the "Don't You Hate When That Happens?" department, a firearms instructor shoots himself in the leg.

And to finish off, from the Right Scoop, two miniature schnauzers welcome their soldier home.